The present invention relates generally to coin processing devices and, more particularly to a coin wrapper.
Coin wrapping machines have been used for a number of years. Wrapping coins facilities the handling and processing of large volumes of coins. Banks, casinos, retail stores, and money handling companies such as armored carriers are some of the beneficiaries of these machines. As business grows, these businesses are experiencing a greater number of customers resulting in an increased intake of coins. As would be expected, theses businesses desire to stack and wrap their coins as quickly and as accurately as possible.
Single coin denominations are stacked in a manner such that each coin stack of that particular denomination has a uniform value. For example, United States nickels are traditionally wrapped in stacks valuing two dollars and quarters are wrapped in stacks valuing ten dollars. The paper in which coins are wrapped is typically preprinted displaying the denomination and the value of the stack of wrapped coins. Coin wrappers have relieved those who deal with large quantities of coins from the burden of manually stacking and wrapping coins. Coin wrappers are also used to wrap other items such as, for example, casino tokens and subway tokens.
Coin wrapper typically operate by forming a coin stack in a stacking region, transferring the coin stack from the stacking region to a wrapping region, and then wrapping paper around the coin stack. Unfortunately, these machines are only capable of processing a coin stack, one stack at a time, which translates into an increased period of time to wrap a given batch of coins. Conventional coin wrappers also typically operate at the same speed regardless of the coin denomination to be wrapped. For example, it takes a longer period of time to produce a stack of wrapped quarters than it does for a stack of dimes. This time differential is due to the fact that a quarter has larger diameter than a dime. Accordingly, it take more time to create a coin stack when introducing axially aligned coins to the stacking region. It also takes more time to wrap paper around a coin stack having a larger diameter because there is a greater amount of surface area to cover.
Another feature of many coin wrapper is the crimping of the paper wrapped around the coin stack located at the top and the bottom of the coin stack. However, many coin wrapper simply smash the paper into the ends of the coins stack. This xe2x80x9csmashingxe2x80x9d does not always effectively bind the paper to prevent the paper from unraveling from around the coin stack. If the paper becomes unraveled the integrity of the wrap is destroyed and the coins can be spilled.
A problem with many conventional coin wrappers is the inability to accommodate coins having a wide range of diameters. The smallest coin available internationally, currently known to applicants, is the Holland dime which has a diameter of approximately 0.59 inches (approximately 1.50 cm). The largest coin/token available is the five dollar casino token which has diameter of approximately 1.76 inches (approximately 4.47 cm). Many conventional coin wrappers are unable to accommodate coins ranging in diameter size between 0.59 to 2 inches. Other coin wrappers are only able to accommodate a few specific diameters within this range. For example, a conventional coin wrapper may be able to process several coins having markedly different diameters, but because the moveable parts of the coin wrapper are cam driven, the coin wrapper is unable to accommodate any coin having diameters falling between specific diameters. Put another way, the cam is only able to move the coin wrapper components to specific positions rather than to any positions within the corresponding range of coin diameters which the coin wrapper can accommodate. Accordingly, what is needed is a coin wrapper which can quickly and effectively wrap coins and/or tokens of a variety of denominations and/or sizes.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a coin wrapping device for receiving a batch of coins and then quickly and accurately stacking and wrapping the coins. In accordance with the present invention, a coin wrapper which comprises a coin input region for receiving coins, a coin queuing mechanism for receiving the coins from the coin input region and moving each of the coins away from said coin input region, a first and a second coin shuttle, a coin stacking region for receiving the coins from the coin queuing mechanism and for stacking the coins on the first or second coin shuttle, and a coin wrapping region for receiving the coin stack on the first or second coin shuttle from the coin stacking region. The coin wrapping region includes a plurality of rollers for rotating the coin stack and a paper feed mechanism for introducing paper to be wrapped around the coin stack. The coin wrapper further comprises a first arm coupled to the first shuttle which is adapted to move the first shuttle in the horizontal and vertical directions and a second arm coupled to the second shuttle which is adapted to move the second shuttle in the horizontal and vertical directions. The first and second arms are adapted to reciprocally move the first and second coin shuttles, respectively, between the stacking and the wrapping regions. Thus, each of the first and second coin shuttle independently receive a coin stack and subsequently move the coin stack from the stacking region to the wrapping region to be wrapped.
Another aspect of the present invention is directed to the use of a plurality of motors which are directly coupled to the various moveable operational and set-up components of the coin wrapper. For example, at least one motor is directly coupled to each of the first and second arms to provide the horizontal and vertical movement to the first and second arms during the operation of the coin wrapper. Direct drive motors also move many of the structural components of the coin wrapper into set-up positions corresponding to a plurality of coin denominations to be wrapped. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, a motor directly coupled to the plurality of rollers moves the plurality of rollers between a plurality of set-up positions corresponding to the plurality of coin denominations to be wrapped.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the first and the second shuttles are variable sized shuttle wherein each of the shuttles has two stacking elements each having a different diameter. Essentially, one stacking element is a large coin stacking element and the other is a small coin stacking element. The large coin stacking element is used in conjunction with the wrapping of larger coins. The smaller coin stacking element is to be used in conjunction with the wrapping of the smaller coins.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the wrapping region contains at least two tucker guides which are disposed adjacent to the plurality of rollers. The two tucker guides are adapted to direct the paper around the stack of coins. Other embodiments of the present invention include a piece of a fiberglass sheet having a curved shaped disposed adjacent to one of the plurality of rollers. The sheet is adapted to guide the paper from one of the plurality of rollers to another one of the plurality of rollers.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the wrapping region includes an upper and a lower crimp arm which are adapted to crimp the paper wrapped around the coin stack at the upper and lower ends of the coin stack to create a paper toroid at the upper and lower ends of the coin stack. The upper and lower crimp arms are movable in a direction parallel to an axis of the coin stack and in a radial direction with respect to the axis of the coin stack. In another alternative embodiment, the coin wrapper also includes at least one motor directly coupled to the upper and lower crimp arms. One motor is adapted to move the upper and lower crimp arms in a direction parallel to an axis of the coin stack and in a radial direction with respect to the axis of the coin stack.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of rollers in the wrapping region are adapted to rotate the coin stack at a plurality of speeds corresponding to a plurality of coin denominations to be wrapped. The coin wrapper includes at least one motor directly coupled to the plurality of rollers to provide rotational movement to each of the plurality of rollers at the plurality of speeds.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the paper feed mechanism comprises a pair of paper feed rollers. A pre-feed roller draws paper off of a roll of paper. A primary paper feed roller is adapted to introduce paper to the coin stack at one of a plurality of speeds corresponding to a plurality of coin denominations to be wrapped. The paper is introduced to the coin stack at a speed slightly faster than the speed at which the paper circumferentially moves around the coin stack.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, the input region includes a coin table moveable between a plurality of set-up positions corresponding to a plurality of coin denominations to be wrapped. The coin queuing mechanism includes side walls defining a coin passage that is generally tangential to the coin table. At least one of the side walls is moveable between a plurality of coin passage set-up positions corresponding to a plurality of denominations to be wrapped. At least one motor is directly coupled to said plurality of guide walls for moving the coin table and one of the guide walls among the plurality of set-up positions.
The above summary of the present invention is not intended to represent each embodiment, or every aspect, of the present invention. Additional features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detail description, figures, and claim set forth below.